


baby, you're a firework

by earthsgayestdefender



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, IronStrange, M/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Kiss, Romance, Tony-centric, but he's in love with stephen so there's no shortage of the sorcerer supreme either, copious amounts of flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 15:37:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17286779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earthsgayestdefender/pseuds/earthsgayestdefender
Summary: Life is strange for a futurist who couldn’t imagine his own future. Thankfully, Tony gets to welcome the new year with a budding sense of hope in the form of a certain cute, cardigan-wearing wizard.





	baby, you're a firework

**Author's Note:**

> late-ish new years ironstrange because we’re kicking off TwentyBiTeen right!!
> 
> please feel free to leave comments, especially constructive criticism!! y'all, tony, and stephen deserve the best, so i want to be able to improve my writing ùwú

****While the sight of the universe’s strongest heroes mingling and making fools out of themselves at the New Year’s Eve party at the Avengers’ compound was a rare and amusing sight (bar Groot’s horrified stare at the Christmas tree they had forgotten to put away), Tony had to say that the night sky was pretty sublime.

The stars were once a solace, shiny beacons of hope in Tony’s dark childhood. Then space became a gaping maw of death and destruction after Thanos’ first invasion in New York.

But now that it’s been a year since they’ve successfully defeated Thanos, Tony's had a chance to repair his relationship with the stars. Sometimes this attempt was eclipsed by nightmares of losing oxygen in an adrift spaceship, and he couldn’t stand sparing a glance up the blanket of blackness over the Earth.

Other times, Tony sees the glittering expanse of night and thinks about the other planets out there. He remembers the taste of victory, of Nebula’s twin blades against Thanos’ neck, of Peter Parker in his arms as they watched everyone cheer against the backdrop of a the multicolored sky somewhere in the Andromeda Galaxy… and Tony feels like one day he’ll be able to fulfill his childhood dreams of space exploration without fear.

Bringing his thoughts back to Earth, Tony glances at the party behind him to see Shuri and Peter laughing at an exasperated-looking T’challa. Tony can see that the king is trying not to laugh, however. The sight pulls a smile from Tony’s lips.

“Enjoying the party, Stark?”

Tony looks up to see Stephen Strange walking up to join him on the balcony. The other man is in casual wear, donning a cute cardigan sweater that should _not_ look as good on him as it does. He’s smiling at Tony, head tilted inquisitively and hands in the pockets of his jeans.

Tony’s heart does a flip, and it has nothing to do with the sudden boom of fireworks in the background. “Funny, I should ask you the same thing. Heard you were a bit of a party animal back in the day, doc.”

“No offense to New York’s party king himself,” Stephen says wryly, still looking at Tony with that little half-smile, “but honestly, it’s not a lifestyle I’d want to go back to.”

“Hear, hear.” Smirking, Tony tips his wine glass at him and promptly takes a sip of his grape juice.

He turns back to the sky, now alight with greens, reds, and yellow explosions. It’s all very aesthetic, but it’s nothing Tony hasn’t seen—and even done—before.

Stephen comes to stand by his side. “Not a fan of fireworks?”

“Eh, they’re alright. Got nothing on those fancy magic sparks I see when you’re around,” Casual as can be, Tony glances at him out of the corner of his eye, heart-rate spiking over how Stephen would react.

But the sorcerer supreme merely chuckles. “A side effect of channeling energy from other worlds, I’m afraid. I’m not doing anything special.”

“You’re still pretty impressive to me, awesome facial hair bro.” Though Tony’s tone is flippant, he genuinely means what he says. It’s a testament to how far he’s come that he admits this, though the admiration is more for Stephen himself than the actual practice of… magic.

Stephen hums and does some of what Tony likes to call his “wizardly gangster signs”; with his signature _boom boom woosh_ sound effects, Stephen spreads his hands to reveal… a tiny Tony Stark made out of golden sparks. Tiny Tony starts to suit up, shimmering red as his armor covers his body similar to how Iron Man Armor: Mark L operated. The miniature Iron Man does figure-eights around Stephen’s hands and comes to float in front of Tony, who looks at it in wonder.

“Damn, doc, that’s…”  
  
“Impressive?” Stephen says with a wink. Tony’s heart kicks into high-gear once again.

Thankfully, Tony’s saved from saying anything by his miniscule double. Flipping his face plate up, Tiny Tony flashes them with a wink and double-finger guns before he flies off into the night sky and explodes next to a bout of fireworks.

Tony snorts, looking at Stephen with an amused curl of his lips. “Is that really how I look like?”  
  
“I should hope so. I spent hours trying to perfect it,” Stephen says with a grin that borders on cheeky.

“So, how many reference pictures of me did you use, huh? I’m betting at least a thousand.” Tony nudges his shoulder.

“I’ve got a photographic memory, actually.” Stephen clears his throat then mutters, “Not that I would’ve been able to concentrate if I had used those reference pictures Wong gathered anyway...”

It’s not much to go on, but Tony’s mouth gets ahead of his brain as he says, “You know, you could just call me next time. I’ve done some freelance modeling back in the day, you know, to advertise Stark Industries and all that. I’d definitely be open to modeling for you.”

Stephen stares at him with wide eyes. Tony holds his gaze, hoping against hope that he didn’t botch things up...

After a beat of silence, Stephen smiles and averts his eyes. “Are you... _propositioning_ me to stare at you all day?”

“Only if you wanted to.” Tony holds his breath.

Stephen finally looks back at him, jade eyes bright. “Nothing would delight me more.”

Tony somehow manages to reign the grin that threatens to split his face in half. “I could also model in the nude, if that’s more to your favour.”  
  
The laugh that bubbles out of the wizard is music to Tony’s ears.

Tony steps closer and takes hold of Stephen’s hands. They’re covered in battle-scars, in momentos of Stephen’s bravery and sacrifice. “In all seriousness, Stephen…  I have never met anyone quite like you. You’re caring, compassionate, creative, and smart as hell. You saved the universe thousands of times over, and you made me fall in love with a magician, despite my allergy to all things magic. I’d like to take you out if you’d let me.”

_I’d like to have you in my future, if you’d let me._

Tony’s known as a man of tomorrow with all his inventions and ideologies, but for the longest time, he’s been a futurist with no future. It was invention after invention, mission after mission, day after day spent securing others for the future that Tony couldn’t see himself living in.

But years of therapy, medicine and support from his loved ones—especially Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy—helped him have hope again. Even if the future didn’t turn out exactly as he’d expected, even if he and Pepper didn’t work out, even if his dreams of fatherhood hadn’t been fulfilled yet, there was still hope. It was often found in the most unexpected places. Peter and Harley, for example, were like the sons Tony never knew he wanted.

Today, Tony has hopes that things are going to turn out alright. Moreover, he hopes that his future is standing right before him: a man who chose to sacrifice his life and half the world for Tony, a man who Tony inadvertently saved in New York all those years ago, a man who is now staring at Tony as if Tony had held all the secrets of the universe.

“Tony,” Stephen says, and his voice is soft and shaking with all sorts of emotion, “Tony, I—”

 _Ten! Nine! Eight!_ A sudden chorus of voices chanting the New Year countdown pierces through the moment.

They jump apart, and Tony sighs at the loss of contact. “Talk about the timing.”  
  
“Indeed… but I guess this means that I can just show you my answer.” Stephen’s eyes are bright with the reflection of ongoing fireworks and the glint of mischief.

_Seven! Six! Five!_

“Ye—hang on, is that the reason you came outside? Did you plan this?”

Stephen gives one of his trademark enigmatic smiles, the same one that first drew Tony in like a flame. “I had hope.”

_Four! Three! Two!_

“You saucy minx.” Tony laughs as he tiptoes to wind his arms around Stephen’s shoulders. The thought of who he’s holding, of what the future holds, making him drunk with giddiness.

“You love me,” Stephen points out. His hands are a warm anchor on Tony’s waist.

“Yeah, I do.” Tony rests his forehead against Stephen’s.

_One!_

Stephen’s kiss is, for a lack of a better word, _magical_ —not only because it comes from a wizard, but because it comes with the promise of a new year, a new future, a new hope for both of them.


End file.
